Great Nails

Went to this salon for the first time today and was pretty impressed. The guy who did my pedicure (I didn’t catch his name) was very nice and made friendly conversation. I liked that he took his time on massaging my legs and making sure my toes looked nice. The woman who did my manicure was very sweet, though did not talk much. Would have liked my nails to be more square but she gave me a great massage as well. I really appreciated that she asked if two coats looked fine and gave me a third coat free of charge (some places charge you for things like that). Even better, when I went to pay it was much cheaper than I expected. Will go back again!

I was skeptical about going here due to a terrible experience in the past (different owners) To be 100% honest what sold me was the free glass of wine… I know, I know. Lauren did my manicure and she was amazing. Her massage though, I literally drooled. She informed me that next week was the grand opening and they would have Vietnamese food, yes I will be there!

My daughter and I went to Great Nails on Brodie for a Mother’s Day treat. We were happy with the service and the results received. They seemed to have raised their prices since the last time I visited, but you get what you pay for I guess.
I would definitely go back.

Great Nails is my go to place to get a manicure and pedicure. I discovered them in the Brodie Shopping Center within the first few months after moving to Austin.
The shop is well kept and clean. The nail techs are professional and pay attention to detail. My biggest pet peeve when getting my nails done is when they do not pay attention to the details when painting your nails, like when they miss the side of your nail closest to your skin. I have never experienced that problem here.
I recently came in here with my step-​mom, mother in-​law and a bridesmaid right before my wedding so we could all get a mani and pedi. They were very accommodating to us and made us comfortable. I also think their prices are decent and comparable to other places in the area.
I got the shellac on my fingernails. I am sort of new to shellac and still feeling it out, but they turned out great!
Everyone ended up happy with their mani and pedis too!

Wish I’d checked Unilocal — Great Nails sucks!
Got a pedicure (sort of) here last Sunday — they were horribly understaffed and did a rush job. Highlights included sitting with my feet in cold water for over an hour (wish I’d just left) and having my feet rubbed with a mixture of cold water a little lotion (fun!).
My toes were painted, but that’s about it, so my heels, the sides of my toes and cuticles are already looking bad again.

The ladies did a great job withy my manicure! This was my second time there and I think I found my spot! :)

New ownership! I can’t say enough about the pampering, prompt treatment and AMAZING talent. Lee did my nails and pedicure and was pleasant, sweet and was an honest joy. I’ll be back!

I’ve been here several times, but it’s loud, disorganized, understaffed during busy times and if you try and make an appt. they will ignore it. When I go for a pedicure, I want a little relaxation. The ladies here shout stories at each other across the salon. Kids run wild. They stop in the middle of the mani pedi to deal w someone else. I’m done. Too many other choices.

Wow. I was going somewhere else for a bit and recently tried them again and it was the worst mani pedi I’ve ever had. They wrapped my gel nails and left me for over 20 minutes. Then the work was rushed. The tech didn’t even try to get the polish on my pinky toes. And my pinkies are not difficult to do but she just slopped polish all over my toes.

DO NOT DO IT LADIES! IT IS NOT WORTH IT! JUST NOT WORTH IT.
This past weekend was my roommate’s wedding. Almost all of our Bridal party arrived 48 hours ahead of time to help with all of the things that go into a wedding (you know what I mean, there’s always more to do than you think). Anyway, we called two weeks before and made a reservation. They did keep the reservation for us, but that simply meant they sat us in a message chair and made us wait through everyone else who walked in right before we got there. We waited 30 minutes before someone started on one of us (we were on a strict schedule). It took over 2 ½ hours to get through all of us because they kept working on other people instead of just knocking us all out at once. sheesh.
THE MESSAGE CHAIR WAS THE ONLY GOOD PART. Ok, I feel a little guilty for saying that as they were VERY kind, but they were not good at mani/​pedis. I don’t care how kind they are, I won’t go back for another awful mani.pedi.
We recieved pricing over the phone and had told the Bridal party what to expect for all of the different options. They did not honor the pricing they gave us over the phone. And since we were on an incredibly strict schedule, this was the only hour and half we had blocked off for pampering, we didn’t have time to argue or hagle.
To top it off I could have done a better job on my nails at 3 in the morning after being awake for 48 hours and not eating (let’s face it, being hangry is rough and I still could have pulled off a better mani/​pedi through hangriness) AND using my left hand! Everyone’s nails were mangled looking in some form or fashion by the time dinner rolled around during the wedding the next day. Someone even had a tip pop off. We weren’t doing any hard work or anything crazy… the bachelorette party had already happened! I simply got my nails filed down and painted. Yet, it looked like Fido chainsawed them with his mouth and the polish start chipping 2 days later. Just not Cool. The lady didn’t clip any dead skin or snag nails (the ones that go up the sides of your nails between the skin and nail, you know what I’m talking about) on the mani.
The design on my pedi, again, I could have done better. Heck, the three year old boy I babysit could have done better!
While writting this I do feel guilty because, as I stated earlier, they are very kind. But it took a long time to get in an out. They did our mani/​pedis in the same chair, which is always rough on your arms and back, our nails looked icky. Several of us took our polish off the day after the wedding. It just wasn’t worth it.

In my life I never dreamed that I would review a nail salon, but here I go…
The salon is what it is, but Vivienne is amazing. I go strictly for shellac nails & she does an awesome job. It lasts 2 weeks every time! The one time that my nails chipped, she fixed it for free. Go see her.

I was not at all pleased with my first experience at this place. I went in for a shellac mani. The whole visit was rushed and messy. The nail tech ended up cutting my finger, which got infected. It took 2 weeks to heal. The the gel they used started peeling off within a week. I was very bothered with my experience because I read so many great reviews and it was my first time having shellac done. Luckily I did do some research and found an amazing place that I’m very happy with. I should have done that in the first place. Lesson learned.

I have been going here for several years and can’t say enough about this place. Since moving to Austin in 2006, I had a really hard time finding a place I was happy with. I finally discovered Great Nails a few years ago and haven’t gone anywhere else since. I recommend this place to all of my friends and they have also become loyal clients. Great nails has great nail color selection, service, and is a wonderful place to relax and be pampered.
The selection of colors and services is great. They use great products and always have the most up-​to-​date and on-​trend color collections from OPI. They offer a great selection of Shellac products and colors as well. While their standard pedicure is wonderful, the deluxe upgrades are awesome for special occasions and well-​worth the additional money. That said, they don’t skimp on service when you select the regular option either.
The service is truly a strength at Great Nails. I always go to Rosie and she is simply amazing. I never feel rushed with her and she is a fantastic masseuse! If I could pay her for the massage alone, I surely would! I am a bit of a klutz so I’ve messed up my fair share of pedicures and they are always happy to add a new coat of paint, if needed. I also use Rosie for eyebrow waxing and she does a really thorough and (nearly) pain-​free job.
Finally, Great Nails is a fabulous place to go and be pampered without spending a ton of money. The prices are great and I always leave feeling refreshed and relaxed. Sometimes when I go for any sort of pampering I feel like I’m supposed to talk, but the women at Great Nails invite you to relax guilt-​free. I’ve fallen asleep in their massage chairs multiple times.
I’ve tried places all over town, from spas to walk-​in nail salons and Great Nails remains firmly at the top of my list. I really can’t recommend this place more!

I’ve had my nails done at this location before and had been happy with the results. So today, for some pre-​wedding pampering, I went for a pedicure and nails.
I rarely get pedicures (*blush*) but I knew I needed one for my wedding. The woman who did the pedicure was nice, although she barely said a word to me. She mainly talked (in a language I couldn’t understand) to the other women working in the store. That always makes me uncomfortable.
As the pedicure continued, I asked about the gel polishes — that stay on for weeks without chipping. Her head gestures lead me to believe I would be getting that (needless to say, I didn’t). In the middle of my pedicure, another girl working there, sets up shop next to my chair, yanks at my hand and begins applying my nails. At this point, one would think I would feel pampered — having my hands and feet worked on — but instead, it was extremely uncomfortable. I had to keep my feet still for one person, while contorting my arm/​hand for the other. I had to hold my arm up in the air, as the girl rushed through my application.
The final results of the nails were fine, but my pedicure — huge disappointment. I didn’t get the non-​chipping product and the french tips look as though I could have applied it myself, not straight, not even. She only used a clear polish over it. It honestly looks like I applied it myself. So I ended up spending almost $ 75 for an average but uncomfortable full set of nails and a disappointing pedicure. I hope it at least lasts till my wedding day…

There was something unsettling about this place to me. It was very crowded and you had to walk over people to get to the bathroom. The place was eerily quiet, you could just barely hear the music. I was rushed through there and my shellac manicure peeled after a less than a week. I’ve had some places put them on and they lasted almost 3 weeks.
Overall not a relaxing place and when I go and drop a chunk of my hard earned money down to be pampered, I prefer to be relaxed.

pros: Nice pedicure massage chairs. The place/​tools seemed clean, and they had a good polish selection.
cons: My manicure was poorly done. She painted my nails first, and then tried to give me the hand/​arm massage while they were still wet (either she forgot, or just always does it backwards). The paint job was bumpy/​bubbly, and they seemed inconvenienced by my four friends and I who had made reservations for mani/​pedis. My friend said that she had a good experience there prior to our visit, so maybe we just went on a bad day. However, I won’t be returning

If you like an attractive nail salon close to good shopping and don’t mind techs who speak to one another in Vietnamese and constantly try to «up sell» their services, you’ll love it. Obviously I didn’t

First, let me acknowledge that I am FUSSY about nail salons. I like quality at a reasonable price — call me crazy. And a semi-​adequate magazine selection.
SHORT VERSION: Very happy with this place. Visit 2x in a week and this will now be exclusively where I go.
THE DETAILS:
This is the first nail salon in Austin I really like. I went about 5 days ago for a pre-​Christmas pedicure ($ 25?) and was thrilled. I returned today for a Shellac manicure ($ 25) and was pleased.
The color selection is excellent. They carry OPI and China Glaze primarily. And they seem to have the current collection and popular fashion colors, including the new Muppets collection and many of the Designer Series. Yay!
Pedicure chairs are comfy and they even have super cute kids chairs.
At the end of my very pleasant pedicure, they offered a holiday design for an additional $ 5, which I opted to get — and LOVED. SO cute.
Today’s manicure wasn’t quite as enchanting but I was pleased with the shape of my nails and the symmetry (which rarely occurs) and I loved the color. The tech wasn’t my fave but she was efficient and polite. There were several gross women talking about tampons and their «tooties» but that certainly wasn’t the tech’s fault. (And to the lady who finally successfully used a tampon at age 37 — congratulations. And keep your god damn voice down.)

Not sure why this place has so many bad reviews. I’ve been there twice and both times were stellar. (Decided to wait until after the second visit to see if the first was a fluke — nope, second was just as good). They take their time, are very detailed and I haven’t experienced (or seen) any bad attitude or poor customer service. The best part for me is that I *never* (really, never) get a manicure because they don’t last. I’m hard on my nails and usually the polish chips in a few days. I decided to splurge on my first visit and I’m glad I did. My manicures from here have lasted for DAYS — at least a week (that may not seem like much, but for me it’s a miracle). I even asked what they do different (if it’s a special top coat or what) and the girl said they use good polish and try to take their time. Works for me! I’ll be back. You should give them a shot as well.
(Oh, and why 4 and not 5 stars? They do the manicure and pedicures together in the pedicure chairs. I like when a salon does the pedicure and then moves you to the manicure station. It’s just a personal preference.)

Hummm. I have a had a very different experience here than the other reviewers.
I’ve been going to this nail salon for 9 months since the end of my pregnancy… the ladies have been great, the salon and tools seem clean, and they massage my legs extra… I really love this place. I’ve also sent some of my friends here and they enjoy the salon. I did once have them rush me when they were super busy. But even then my tech was still adequate.